Beauty in decay: Urban Exploring

In the UK It's estimated that more than 200,000 homes have been abandoned for over 6 months, a shocking figure alone, but when you factor in the many more abandoned industrial, leisure and educational buildings around the country it seems we are surrounded by beauty in decay.

It’s very likely in fact, that you walk past one of these hidden time capsules every day, with London containing over 500 hectares or empty/ unused industrial land and buildings alone, equal to 750 football pitches. However there is a growing number of adventurers rediscovering these abandoned treasure troves, entering places no longer used and often left to rot, taking nothing but photos and creating visual archives of history that would of otherwise been lost to time and abandonment. The hobby holds a torch to exploring in the modern world, finding excitement and history in the concrete jungle, in empty places hidden right in front of us every day, such as schools, houses, pubs, theatres, factories, underground tunnels, hotels and many many more.

Exploring businesses and homes left to the elements is not without its problems and dangers: security, property owners, police, vandals and squatters all pose risks to urban explorers; running the chance of getting caught and cautioned or being put in serious danger if anyone violent pops up however most other people urban explorers run into keep themselves to themselves and just go about their day. Though getting rumbled by police or security usually means nothing but a slap on the wrist and a warning not to return (as long as no breaking and entering, theft or destruction has taken place) most don’t understand the appeal of walking the halls of an empty cold building in which everything is slowly crumbling.

Rotten floors, decaying structures, asbestos, glass and high places also pose risk of injury, especially with the chance of floors collapsing underneath unknowing explorers; judgement is key within this hobby where a wrong step can end in a disastrous fall, or misjudged entry point can end with a trip to hospital. The most notorious sites of urban exploration such as Chernobyl present even larger risks such as radiation poisoning, with trips to the city only allowed within pre-organised tourist visits, where the explorers must keep a Geiger counter on their person at all times to ensure safe levels of radiation.

Most urban explorers follow a simple code of taking nothing but photos, leaving nothing but footprints and not breaking and entering but gaining access through already open entrances, they are there to capturing modern history before its lost, celebrate architectural feats and beautiful interiors before they are gone.

Many of the best discoveries include sprawling abandoned shopping malls across the USA and the world, the abandoned Rio Olympic stadium which is falling into disrepair just 8 months after the closing ceremony, two houses in UK full of personal items that are time capsules from the past as if the owners just up and left one day, hotels, clubs, pubs, morgues and of course abandoned asylums.

Urban explorers don’t just cover abandoned places with many also exploring high buildings, land marks, tunnel systems and theme parks closed for the day/season.

Urban exploring is not just an exciting adventure but another way of regaining human history; documenting, collecting, archiving and sharing it before it’s lost to decay, vandalism or destruction by the owners and/or council. Numerous stunning feats of human architecture and culture like theatres, mansions, schools, hospitals etc. have been lost thanks to being neglected for too long. In 2013 an Australian family took a stand against beauty in decay, taking on the grand Gudanes castle in France and restoring the hundreds of years old castle. The couple even encouraged those helping to bring the chateaux back to life stay within its rooms, allowing them to experience the stunning châteaux and the history they are saving for themselves.

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